Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Aug 2:5:56.
doi: 10.3389/fchem.2017.00056. eCollection 2017.

Vine Water Deficit Impacts Aging Bouquet in Fine Red Bordeaux Wine

Magali Picard  1   2 , Cornelis van Leeuwen  3 , François Guyon  4 , Laetitia Gaillard  4 , Gilles de Revel  1   2 , Stéphanie Marchand  1   2
Affiliations

Vine Water Deficit Impacts Aging Bouquet in Fine Red Bordeaux Wine

Magali Picard et al. Front Chem. .

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of vine water status on bouquet typicality, revealed after aging, and the perception of three aromatic notes (mint, truffle, and undergrowth) in bottled fine red Bordeaux wines. To address the issue of the role of vine water deficit in the overall quality of fine aged wines, a large set of wines from four Bordeaux appellations were subjected to sensory analysis. As vine water status can be characterized by carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C), this ratio was quantified for each wine studied. Statistical analyses combining δ13C and sensory data highlighted that δ13C-values discriminated effectively between the most- and least-typical wines. In addition, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed correlations between δ13C-values and truffle, undergrowth, and mint aromatic notes, three characteristics of the red Bordeaux wine aging bouquet. These correlations were confirmed to be significant using a Spearman statistical test. This study highlighted for the first time that vine water deficit positively relates to the perception of aging bouquet typicality, as well as the expression of its key aromatic nuances.

Keywords: mint and truffle aromas; vine water status; vintage effect; water deficit; wine aging bouquet typicality; wine carbon 13 isotope; δ13C.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Relationship between δ13C-values and vine water deficit thresholds in grapes and wine, respectively. Three levels of vine water deficit are defined: slight water deficit (δ13C-values lower than −24.5% in grapes and −26.2% in wine); moderate water deficit (δ13C-values between −24.5 and −23.0% in grapes and −26.2 and −24.7% in wine); severe water deficit (δ13C-values higher than −23.0% in grapes and −24.7% in wine).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationship between aging bouquet typicality scores and δ13C representing the level of vine water deficit for the set of red Bordeaux wines considered (least, intermediate, and most typical wines represented by circles, squares, and triangles, respectively). Letters indicate the appellations (P, Pomerol; MX, Margaux; SE, Saint-Estèphe; SEM, Saint-Emilion). The following numbers indicate the vintage of each wine. The two Pomerol series are distinguished by numbers 1 and 2 (i.e., P1 and P2).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(A) PCA correlation circle of (percentage of total variability explained: 71%) presenting typicality scores, aromatic descriptors, and δ13C measurements and (B) the corresponding projection map of wines, classified according their typicality, obtained by HCA(least, intermediate, and most typical wines represented by circles, squares, and triangles, respectively). Concerning the wine codes of the map projection, letters indicate the appellations (P, Pomerol; MX, Margaux; SE, Saint-Estèphe; SEM, Saint-Emilion). The following numbers indicate the vintage of each wine. The two Pomerol series are distinguished by numbers 1 and 2 (i.e., P1 and P2).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ballester J., Dacremont C., Le Fur Y., Etievant P. (2005). The role of olfaction in the elaboration and use of the Chardonnay wine concept. Food Qual. Prefer. 16, 351–359. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2004.06.001 - DOI
    1. Bell S. J., Henschke P. A. (2005). Implications of nitrogen nutrition for grapes, fermentation and wine. Aust. J. Grape Wine Res. 11, 242–295. 10.1111/j.1755-0238.2005.tb00028.x - DOI
    1. Cadot Y., Caillé S., Samson A., Barbeau G., Cheynier V. (2010). Sensory dimension of wine typicality related to a terroir by quantitative descriptive analysis, just about right analysis and typicality assessment. Anal. Chim. Acta 660, 53–62. 10.1016/j.aca.2009.10.006 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cadot Y., Caillé S., Thiollet-Scholtus M., Samson A., Barbeau G., Cheynier V. (2012). Characterization of typicality for wines related to terroir by conceptual and by perceptual representations. An application to red wines from the Loire valley. Food Qual. Prefer. 24, 48–58. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.08.012 - DOI
    1. Casabianca F., Sylvander B., Noel Y., Beranger C., Coulon J. B., Roncin F. (2005). Terroir et typicité: deux concepts clés des appellations d'origine contrôlée, essai de définitions scientifiques et opérationnelles, in Restitution des Travaux de Recherches sur les Indications et Appellations D'origine Géographiques (Paris: INAO; ), 199–213.